Sri Lanka continues to see a decline in its seafood exports through April 2015, when earnings fell to 41.2 percent and amounted to just USD 14.1 million (EUR 12.6 million).
According to the Central Bank, the drop corresponds with a 68.3 percent decline in Sri Lanka exports overall to the European Union market after the European Commission threatened to ban Sri Lankan exports in October 2014, when the nation’s government was accused of not sufficiently addressing illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The ban has since gone into effect, as of 13 January 2015.
As of 2013, Sri Lanka existed as the second biggest exporter of swordfish and tuna to the EU – EUR 74 million (USD 82.4 million) in exports transpired between the EU and Sri Lanka that year. The Department of Commerce figures that the ban has cost Sri Lanka nearly USD 100 million (EUR 89.7 million).
Moving forward, Sri Lanka is looking to have the ban lifted – Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe hopes that it will be possible to have the ban lifted come the end of 2015, ColomboPage reports. The government has been able to complete 36 out of the 57 procedures mandated by the EU.
Sri Lanka's seafood exports amounted to USD 23.9 million (EUR 21.4 million) in April 2014. Export earnings began dropping in October 2014, according to Central Bank data.
